ESPN NBA Insider Grades the Nerlens Noel Trade

While many Sixers fans were critical of Bryan Colangelo decision to send Nerlens Noel to Dallas, there were a few people who took a more positive view of the Sixers’ return.

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton gave the Sixers a B-, pointing out a optimistic view of this deal from the 76ers' standpoint.

Let's start with the optimistic view of this deal from the 76ers' standpoint. Noel was about to get paid as a restricted free agent, and while Philadelphia has unusually strong need for a capable backup center because of Joel Embiid's health history, there were only so many minutes for Noel when Embiid was healthy unless they were able to play together. And even that possibility is complicated by the presence of Ben Simmons and Dario Saric at power forward.

So moving Noel did make sense if the value was there, and the answer to that question depends on your valuation of Anderson. Though he could never seem to win Carlisle's trust, Anderson is a physical wing defender with an excellent combination of steal and block rates. In fact, Noel and Anderson (who just sneaks over the bar) are both among the 21 players in the league who have averaged 2.0 steals per 100 team plays and blocked 2.0 percent of opponent 2-point attempts or better in at least 500 minutes.

Philadelphia sent Noel, to the Mavericks in exchange for Justin Anderson, Andrew Bogut and a conditional first-round draft pick, which most like will turn into a pair of second-round picks.

The Sixers received generally negative reviews for the deal, they were unable to get a solid first-round pick they were reportedly asking for, for Noel or Jahlil Okafor who wasn't traded at Thursday's deadline remaining in Philly.